Refrigerator-car.



No. 642,4!8. v Patented Jan. 30, I900.

G. L. BENSON.

REFRIGERATOR CAR. Application filed Oct. 30, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

SHflmsses N\ eoryeL-Benawiv 9 m V Fig. 3.

NlTED STATES Tricia.

PATENT REFRIGERATOR-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,418, dated January 30, 1900.

Application filed October 30, 1899.

T0 ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. BENSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Michaels, in the county of Talbot and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Refrigerator-Car, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in refrigerator-cars.

One object of the present invention is to improve the construction of refrigerator-cars and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one which will permit afree circulation of cold air through its contents and which will be especially adapted for carrying fruit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator-car of this character adapted to divide the weight of the load,and thereby prevent the entire weight of the same from resting upon the bottom boxes or layers, whereby the liability of bruising, ripening, or otherwise injuring fruit is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of the invention is to enable the supporting devices for sustaining the upper half of the contents of the car to be compactly folded against the sides of the latter when the car is not employed for carrying fruit.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figurel is a longitudinal sectional view of a refrigerator car constructed in accordance with this invention, the supports being in position for use in one half of the car and being folded at the other half of the car. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the supports being in position for use. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the inner face of one side of the car and illustrating the manner of folding the supports. Fig. rtis a detail sectional view, the parts being arranged as shown in Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of the block which supports the free end of the folding transverse bar when the latter is in position for use.

Serial No. 735,249- (No model.)

responding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

cured, respectively, to the inner faces of the sides and ends of a refrigerator-car 3 and having horizontal slats 4t and 5 secured to them and arranged at intervals to form side and end walls of the refrigerating-compartment of the car. The side and end walls are spaced from the sides and ends of the car by the vertical bars and cleats 1 and2, which are provided with suitable recesses 6 and 7 to permit a circulation of air through the spaces formed by them. The slats are spaced apart to provide openings for the passage of air and to permit the latter to pass freely from the interior of the car to the side and end passages or spaces formed by the side and end walls. The car is provided at its bottom with a supporting-platform 8, preferably composed of two sections and consisting of longitudinal slats secured to transverse bars 9, which offset the slats from the bottom of the car to provide spaces to permit air to pass beneath the contents of a car from one side to the other of the latter.

Supported upon the walls of the refrigeraa ing-compartment is a shallow pan 10, form- ,ing an ice-receptacle and constituting the top The walls of the ice-receptacle may be of any height to provide a pan of any depth, and they have horizontal supporting-flanges 11 and 12 extending outward from the sides and ends of the receptacle and resting upon the side and end walls formed by the slats 4t and 5. The' side flanges 11 terminate short of the side walls of the car; but the end flanges 12 extend to the end walls of the car and close the vertical end spaces or passages at the top, whereby the cold air is caused to descend at the sides of the car. The ice is supported upon platforms or trays 13, composed of longitudinal slats and transverse bars, which are recessed at their ends 14 to provide passages for the escape of water to permit the same to flow to drain-tubes 15, which are located at diagonally-opposite corners of the car. The drain-tubes 15, which are suitably secured to the inner slatted walls of the car, are preferably provided between their ends with goose- Like numerals of reference designate corneck bends 16 to provide water seals, and

1 and 2 designate vertical bars or cleats seof the refrigerating-compartment of the car.

thereby prevent cold air from passing out through the drain pipes or tubes.

The car is provided at its sides and ends above the ice-receptacle with vertical blocks or pieces 17 and 18, to which are secured side and end slats 19 and 20, arranged in the same plane as the inner side and end walls and adapted to prevent any ice of the receptacle from getting into the spaces between the inner walls and the car-body.

The ice-receptacle is divided into two separate portions or compartments by a transverse partition 21, depending from the top of the car-body and extending entirely across the same. Ice is supplied to the receptacle from the top of the car, which is provided with doors 22, located at opposite sides of the transverse partition, and it will be readily apparent that either or both of the compartments of the ice-receptacle may be used.

In order to relieve the bottom platform of one-half of the weight of the fruit to avoidbruising the same and the heating resulting from close contact, horizontal shelves or partitions 24 are employed and are adapted to fold against the sides of the car or, rather, the inner walls thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings. The shelves or partitions,which extend from the door-opening to the inner end walls of the car, are connected to the inner side walls by hinges 25, which permit the shelves or partitions to swing upward against the said inner side walls, in which position they are secured by suitable fastening devices when it is desired to use the car for meats and the like. When the partitions or shelves are in a horizontal position, they are supported by and rest upon transverse bars26 and 27, which enable them to sustain the weight of the upper half of the contents of the car. The hinged shelves or partitions are preferably constructed of Iongitudinal slats connected by suitable crossbars; but they and theinner walls of the car may be constructed in any other suitable manner, if desired.

The outer transverse bar 26 is secured to the inner end wall by suitable fastening devices and is stationary. The inner transverse supportingbar 7 is connected at one end with the adjacent slatted side wall by a hinge 28, arranged at one of its side faces and adapted to permit it to swing against such slatted side wall to fold it in the position illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings. Its free end is supported when it is in position for use bya vertical block or piece 29, recessed at its upper end to provide a pair of lugs 30, which engage the side faces of the bar 27, whereby the latter is securely held on thesnpport. The free end of the bar 27 is supported by a block 32 when the parts are folded, as shown in Fig. 3, and the said block 32 is provided with a vertical lug or projection, which retains the bar 27 in its folded position. When the bar 27 is folded, it is arranged beneath the adjacent shelf or partition,which is then in a vertical position. The shelvesor partitions when in position for use are adapted to support a portion of the contents of the car, and they prevent the lower boxes or layers of fruit from being subjected to the weight of the entire contents of the car. This will reduce the liability to bruise fruit, berries, and the like to a minimum and will prevent the heating and consequent ripening resulting from fruit being packed too closely.

It will be seen that the ice in the pan or receptacle at the top of .the car reduces the temperature of the air at that point, which being heavier than the air at the bottom of the car descends at opposite sides of the latter and prod nces'a thorough ci rcnlation. The slatted inner walls, the" bottom platform, and the slatted supports permit the cold air to have thorough access to the entire contents of the car, and the transverse partition at the top of the car will admit of the use of either or both of the compartments of the ice-receptacle.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claimsmay be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any offthe'advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is 1. In: a refrigerator-car, the combination with thecar-body, of the inner side and end Walls, spaced from the car-body and having openings,and the ice-receptacle supported by the said inner walls at the top of the car and provided withhorizontalside and end flanges resting upon the said inner walls, the end flanges being extended across the spaces between the walls toclose the same, and theside flanges terminating short of the sidesof the car-body, whereby the cold air is forced to descend at the sides of the car, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a refrigerator-car, the combination with the car-body, of the inner side and end walls spaced from the car-body and having openings, the'ice-receptacle located at the top of the car and supported by the inner walls and provided with horizontal flanges resting upon the same, the side flanges terminating short of the car-body. and the end flanges extending to the same, blocks mounted on the body of the car atthe' sides andcnds thereof, above the ice-receptacle, and the side and end slats secured to the said blocks, substantially as described.

3. In a refrigerator-car, the combination with the car-body, of the inner side and end wallss-pacedfrom the car-body and having openings, the ice-receptacle arranged at the top of the car. and supported by the said inner walls and provided with side and end fiangesresting upon thesame, the side flanges terminating short of, and the end flanges being extended to the car-body, blocks mounted on the car-body at the sides and ends of the horizontal supporting-barlooated beneath the shelves or partitions and hinged at one end and arranged to swing across the car and adapted to be arranged at one side thereof when the parts are folded, and blocks mounted at opposite sides of the car and provided with lugs and adapted to receive and support the free end of the said transverse bar in its folded and operative positions, substantially as described.

5. In a refrigerator-car, the combination with a car-body, of inner side and end walls spaced therefrom, a fixed horizontal bar mounted on the end wall, a folding horizontal bar hinged to one of the side walls and arranged to swing across the car, blocks mounted on the side walls and arranged to receive the free end of the folding bar, and the folding shelves or partitions hinged to the side walls above the said bars and arranged to swing downward upon the same, substan tiall; as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEO. L. BENSON.

Witnesses:

H. F. RILEY,

THEODORE DALTON. 

